RAPAPORT... The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) will launch a
campaign in India encouraging new parents to celebrate the birth of a child by purchasing a diamond.

Based on the DPA’s consumer research, 39% of Indian
consumers consider the birth of a child to be an auspicious occasion for buying
jewelry, it explained last week.

The new campaign will follow up on the initial Real is Rare
promotion the DPA launched in India last year, which celebrates intimate
moments that cement a couple’s bond. The
new ads will focus on how things change between a couple as they welcome a
baby.

“The diamond industry needed a new occasion to drive sales
and enhance consumer confidence,” said Colin Shah, vice-chairman of India’s Gem
and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), which is working with the DPA on the campaign. “This occasion is the perfect
fit for diamond-jewelry sales, as the birth of a child is a universally
celebrated moment across all cultures in our country, and is not seasonal in
nature.”

The DPA will launch a large marketing campaign over the
coming year, which it will publicize across social media and inside jewelry retail stores, it
added.

Image: A still shot from the new Real is Rare childbirth campaign in India. (Diamond Producers Association)